Downrigger fishing is a method used to catch fish that swim at great depths underwater. A downrigger weight is attached to a line or cable and suspended from a fishing vessel to a predetermined depth. Conventionally fishing lures or baited hooks are attached to the cable along the length of the downrigger at depth locations where it is suspected fish will be located.
The downrigger cable and weight maintain fishing lines attached thereto at the preselected depths and when a fish is caught the associated line is released from the downrigger and brought to the surface. Examples of prior art relating to downrigger devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,690 to Lund, U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,648 to Louthan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,994 to Thompson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,920 to Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,954 to Bissonette, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,127 to Daniels.